The birds of Brooklyn

Art comes in many sizes, shapes and forms. A roaming exhibit in Brooklyn that will cause your ears to perk up.

Brooklyn artist and New York City College of Technology Assistant Professor Jenna Spevack has developed a community-based audio artwork, "Birds of Brooklyn," that brings the sounds of Brooklyn's displaced, endangered and bygone birds to various sites around the borough.

From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., bird songs that are rarely heard in densely populated Brooklyn neighborhoods are projected from participating host locations. Neighborhood residents and passersby will hear 20 different recordings, including the Ring-necked Pheasant, Grasshopper Sparrow and Eastern Blue Bird. The project aims to reconnect city dwellers with the natural sounds of the area and raise awareness about declining bird populations in urban environments.

The project is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council.

The selection of recordings was chosen to highlight birds that are not commonly heard on the streets or shores of Brooklyn, but may have been at one time. Members of the Brooklyn Bird Club consulted on the project.

Spevack hopes awareness of birds that have vanished or are endangered will inspire Brooklynites to support their bird neighbors.

"Birds of Brooklyn" is located at several sites, including Brooklyn Design Lab in Park Slope, Mile End Delicatessen in Boerum Hill, ShyBirdy in Williamsburg, Sweet Melissa's in Carroll Gardens, Monti Studios in Prospect Heights and Breukelen Coffee House in Crown Heights.